This week on The Sunnydale Diaries, we’re taking on one of the most acclaimed (and devastating) episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 5, Episode 16, “The Body.”

For an episode this heavy, Melanie and Sean do something a little different: they watch it together, pausing along the way to process Buffy’s shock, Dawn’s heartbreak, Xander’s anger, Willow’s desperate need to do something right, and Anya’s unforgettable struggle to understand why death has to happen.

Sean revisits the episode in full for the first time in 25 years, while Melanie experiences it for the first time, and both are struck by the episode’s almost complete lack of music, its uncomfortable silences, and the painfully ordinary details that make the grief feel so real.

There are still a few moments of Sunnydale absurdity: questionable hospital procedures, suspiciously easy morgue access, some impressive “wallmanship,” and even a vampire. But, this is an episode where the usual snark mostly takes a back seat.

Grab the tissues and join us as we talk through one of Buffy's most powerful hours.

No spoilers beyond the episode being discussed.

Opening/closing theme by @elyisum-music.

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